mikeszekely

I'm like 75% with you. If we have a G1 version already, like Arcee, Prowl, Optimus, Bumblebee, etc, I really don't want a G1-ified version of a Prime or Animated character, and I don't think fans of Prime or Animated who have been waiting 15+ years for modern updates want that either. That said, there are cases where characters from other continuities don't really have G1 analogs, like Bulkhead or Knockout from Prime or Blackout and Barricade from the Bayverse, where I kind of wish that there was a G1 version and I don't mind the G1-ification. Honestly, I agree, and it's possible that 2026 Ratchet will be an entirely new mold. I'm just spitballing. I think the alt mode makes for a good Bulkhead, but the bot mode less so (to be fair, though, that's arguably a step up from Legacy Bulkhead). I do wonder, though, if the leak for an Animated Ratchet is actually supposed to be a Prime Ratchet. Swap the Lenses with knives, put on a new head and chest, maybe new shoulders, and you're definitely in the ballpark.

Closing out this wave of Age of the Primes with one of the titular Primes- Deluxe-class Alchemist Prime. Alchemist has a bit of history that dates all the way back to Simon Furman's run on the original UK run of Marvel's Transformers, where we're introduced to Maccadam's Old Oil House and its mustachioed bartender. Later, when Furman wrote DK's Transformers - The Ultimate Guide, he slipped in the additional lore that Maccadam was one of the original 13 Transformers, alongside artwork of the bartender (who was never explicitly stated to be Maccadam). Separately, Hasbro was developing the material that would become The Covenant of Primus, where we were first introduced to Alchemist Prime, the Prime with power of the elements. Alchemist was depicted as a thicker fellow with glasses and a beard, and was said to be one of the only Primes to remain on Cybertron after the Age of the Primes. But it was Transformers Cyberverse that eventually took the idea of a bartender rumored to be an ancient Prime and an actual Prime who somehow remained on Cybertron but is totally unknown and canonized that to mean that Maccadam and Alchemist Prime are the same guy. Which means that, if you competed the build-a figure packed with the early waves of Cyberverse Deluxes, you already have an Alchemist Prime toy! Unlike Cyberverse Maccadam, AotP Alchemist isn't specifically modeled on Youtuber Thew Adams, though there are elements like the knee pads, glasses, the tummy grill, and the circular details on the forearms that call back to that design. They're blended with the greenish color of Alchemist as he appears in The Covenant of Primus and the mustachioed face of the G1 bartender. While I've a fondness for Cyberverse Maccadam, this version of Alchemist is a suitably G1-adjacent blend of the various Alchemist/Maccadam designs in a fairly tidy package. Alchemist's accessories are supposed to be his signature relic, the Lenses. But... the Lenses are really supposed to be his glasses. Despite being modeled on the glasses worn by Alchemist in The Covenant of Primus, these Lenses are too big to be worn by a Titan, let alone a Deluxe. Alchemist's head is on a ball joint. It can tilt up or sideways slightly, but a transformation hinge gives be pretty good downward tilt. His shoulders rotate and move laterally 90 degrees, biceps swivel, elbows bend 90 degrees, no wrist swivels. His waist swivels, hips can go forward and laterally 90 degrees, only slightly under 90 degrees backward. Thighs swivel, knees bend 90 degrees. No up/down tilt on the feet, but his ankles pivot about 75 degrees. I guess the Lenses are his weapon? There are bits on the ends that let him hold them like daggers... Alternatively, there are 5mm pegs on them that let him hold them like a gun, mount to his forearms, or mount to his shoulders. The "blade" of the left lens is set farther forward and hollow on the back, while the "blade" on the right is recessed and thinner, essentially allowing it to slot behind the one on the left and combine to make lenses he can hold and kinda look through. Alchemist's transformation is pretty simple. His head tucks into his chest, and his arms first pull away from his sides and then hinge backward, allowing them to join at the shoulders and forearms behind his back. His waist swivels 180 degrees, his shins open, his feet tuck in, then his legs encapsulate his forearms. Then you just rock the windshield into place. The resulting vehicle is decidedly less Cybertronian that we've seen so far with the other Primes. I don't dislike it, but it almost strikes me as Prime Bulkhead, or maybe Animated or Prime Ratchet. And, huh, I think I've heard that Animated Ratchet is coming in 2026. Well, Alchemist might not have the most Cybertronian alt mode we've seen, but it's a pretty competent Hummer-esque SUV. In alt mode, the 5mm ports that were on Alchemist's shoulders wind up on his roof, so you simply plug the Lenses in there for storage and Bob's your uncle. In the most objective sense, Alchemist is a perfectly competent Deluxe-class toy. He's got acceptably normal articulation, an uncomplicated transformation, and a serviceable alt mode. Frankly, this figure is executed much better than fellow Deluxe Solus. As a character, Marvel UK and The Ultimate Guide don't have the same impact on me as Maccadam's prominent role in Cyberverse, so I kind of wish they'd drawn a little more from that version. I guess his biggest flaw is just that he's the boring Prime. He's not the first, he's not Optimus' mentor, he's not the Fallen or the girl or the trickster at the center of that fall, he's not the guy with the prominent role in Cybertron or the Centaur... he's the bartender. Get him if you're in for all Thirteen, otherwise wait for the repaint.

If there was a Mount Rushmore for heavy metal Ozzy would definitely be on it. Dude was a legend.

Doesn't matter if you're talking Target or Walmart, all the stores around me are the same story- a buttload of unsold Transformers One, some Devastation Optimus Primes and SS Q, and if you're lucky maybe a Bonecrusher or two. Amazon, fortunately, has come through with the rest of the current wave of Age of the Primes. Minus package refreshes, that's just a pair of Deluxes for me, starting with the one you guys are most likely to be interested in- Vortex. For me, Combiner Wars Vortex was kind of a dud. I mean, I get that they were going for toy colors, but even then the purple instead of pink,, blue shoulders, gray combiner peg, and weird yellow missile arms didn't really capture that for me. Age of the Primes Vortex, though, understood the assignment. Cartoon colors? Check. Cartoon details like the weirdly round forearms, intakes on the shoulders, and mostly-black shins? Check again. Too bad some of that black didn't end up on his toes, though. While I've seen some third parties do some impressive engineering to get to a cartoon-accurate Vortex, it's clear that was maybe a bridge too far for Hasbro in a Deluxe-class figure that taking some cues from Hasbro's recent stabs at the Aerialbots and Stunticons. To that end, some compromises had to be made, mostly in his arms. It looks like half his hand is missing, while the backs of his forearms are absolutely loaded with kibble. I find the kibble a little extra annoying, simply because it doesn't really lock into any position and keeps getting in the way. Vortex comes with a trio of guns, the designs of which are again pretty cartoon accurate. The only note I'd make is that they should be mostly blue, with just the barrels of the smaller guns black. Vortex's head is on a ball joint and can tilt up, down, and sideways a little in addition to swiveling. His shoulders swivel and move 90 degrees laterally, his biceps swivel, and his elbows bend 90 degrees. No wrist articulation. Depending on how you're posing him, you may find that the intakes or the tail kibble hampering your ability to pose his arm. His waist swivels. His hips can go forward and backward 90 degrees, and laterally over that. His thighs swivel, his knees bend 90 degrees. His feet have some slight upward bend, and his ankles pivot 90 degrees. For cartoon accuracy the small guns should plug into ports on the outsides of his forearms, and he holds the larger gun in either hand. All the guns use 5mm ports, though, as does his main rotor, so there's nothing stopping you from having him dual-wielding the smaller guns, sticking the main rotor onto his forearm like he's Bayverse Blackout, and stowing the larger gun on his back. Transforming AotP Vortex's lower half should feel pretty familiar... fold the toes down, open the shins, fold the thighs into the lower legs, close the shins back up. The upper body, though, takes cues from the G1 toy, where the arms fold up around his head to make the tail, with just a few added steps to line up the intakes. The resulting helicopter is mostly good. Cartoon accurate blue stripes on the nose, intake/exhaust nacelles, four main rotor blades, etc. My main gripe is that while his legs, back, and arms do a pretty good job of being a helicopter, his head and the front of his torso do not. His head and chest are just kind of an awkward block, which could almost be passable were it not for a gap between his legs and chest where his waist is tapered in. I get why they did it (better-looking bot mode), but would it have killed them to stick a flap on him that could have folded out to fill that gap? You have options for weapons storage. The instructions suggest using tabs on the sides of the guns, and sticking the smaller ones into slots just below the shoulder hinges with the barrels pointing backward (though there's no reason they can't point forward), and using one of the similar tabs on the larger gun to plug it into either side of the nose. It also seems like the small guns were actually meant to go on the helicopter's chin, though. They're not identical; one has the tab on the left, the other on the right, and you can arrange them so that the 5mm pegs touch with the tabs facing upward, and they'll plug into matching slots under the chin. For cartoon accuracy, though, the smaller guns should plug into the 5mm ports on the tail boom. Then ideally you'd want the larger gun, or at least the barrel of it, on the helicopter's nose. I guess the designers gave up here, though. Using the tabs, you can plug it into one of the slots on the chin, or you could even plug the 5mm peg into one of the combiner ports on his shins, but both of those options leave the barrel off-center well below the nose, so low that it interferes with Vortex's ability to sit on his molded, non-functioning wheels. AotP Vortex is a lot like the Aerialbots and Stunticons that came before him... much more cartoon-accurate and a major improvement over the Combiner Wars version, but still severely hampered by a limited budget for engineering. I suspect, for a lot of collectors, being a little better than Combiner Wars Vortex will be enough, as long as the combined mode is better. And while we're a ways off from next year's Commander-class Onslaught and seeing how Bruticus will work, based on their work on Menasor and Superion I feel comfortable telling you that you should get ready and pick Vortex up.

I'll be playing too, the problem is finding time for it with Donkey Kong and Shadow Labyrinth also demanding my attention.

I'm so into that. Earthspark wasn't a great show, and way too many of the Deluxes were repaints and retools of Cyberverse toys, but somehow they keep sneaking in bangers like this and Soundwave.

He'd have to have a remolded head without the vents on the mask, rounder top, and a gray face with blue eyes instead of a black visor. And I wouldn't bet on him shelfwarming. Since no 'toon Seaspray has been announced, even if it's inevitable, people are going to buy the crap out of this one. Think less Retro Gears, more Velocitron Cosmos. Now, what will likely be shelfwarming is Retro Brawn...

A little hollow, but looks better than the old Titans Return one. I'll preorder it when it goes up, but I hope they do a cartoon colored one eventually.

I could take it leave the Jet Jaguar fig, but anything that makes Megatron look like Godzilla and not just dark gray Grimlock is a win in my book.

4 feet tall and an estimated price pushing $700 before shipping and tariffs? No thank you. I'm having a hard enough time finding space for the figures I do buy... like Load Warrior, DreamStar Toys version of Long Haul. Load Warrior's in a bit of a rough spot for me. Like, on the one hand, the overall aesthetic is a match for what DST's been doing so far. But also, could he be more generic? I mean, look at his chest. There's a purple cockpit door and, though they're green and blend in with the rest of the chest, vents flanking it that scream "GUNDAM!" Which isn't necessarily the worst thing ever, but there really isn't much visible alt mode kibble on him at all, aside from some wheels on his shoulders. Stylized though they were, DST's Scrapper was still very obviously Scrapper, and DST's Hook had very stylized bits that recalled the panels over Hook's shoulders. With Load Warrior, if I didn't tell you it was Long Haul, would you have recognized him? Things are marginally improved from other angles. He's got some kibble on his back that looks a like it could be part of his bed, and panels on the sides of his legs that definitely are. And despite the normal generic-ness of his upper body, his legs have a chunkiness to him that modern versions of Long Haul tend to have. Load Warrior comes with a number of accessories. We've got his gun, naturally. There's two rod-like parts, and a part that looks like another gun (with a nice metallic-red diamond painted on it) but isn't, and a pair of translucent red blades. There's also a pelvis and thighs. Open the front and you'll find a slot that you can slide the mushroom peg on the bottom of the Megatron torso that came with Hook. Sadly, Megatron's not whole yet, though, as one of his arms will come with Bonecrusher and the other with Scavenger. Load Warrior's head is on a ball joint with decent enough up/down/sideways tilt. His shoulders rotate and move laterally over 90 degrees, all on ratchets. His biceps swivel, and his elbows are double-jointed and can bend 180 degrees. His wrists swivel. His index finger is separate from the other three, which are molded together. All his fingers are pinned at the base with two additional hinged knuckles, while his thumb has a ball joint at the base and two pinned knuckle hinges. His waist swivels, and he's got about 45 degrees of ab crunch. His hip skirts hinge upward in the front, so his hips can go about 90 degrees forward, 45 degrees backward, and over 90 degrees laterally on some very strong ratchets. His feet don't have any up/down tilt, but his ankles can pivot about 45 degrees. You can actually push them to closer to 90, but you'll have to undo the gray armor behind his foot. The red light thingies on his back can swivel to be more visible, which I think helps give him some character. His gun has slots on the handle that are meant to connect to tabs on the insides of his palms. It works, but it's not the tightest fit and the vibrations from some of the ratchets can cause the gun to come loose while manipulating him even if you aren't touching that hand/arm. The rest of his accessories combine to make a huge axe. Which, I have to admit, looks pretty friggin' sweet. Weirdly, while there is a spot that has the slots to attach to his palm, there's only one, and it's on the bottom third of the shaft. For most poses, I imagine he'll be holding the axe by friction alone. I also can't help but notice some tabs and peg holes and a hinge. It makes me wonder if there's going to be some gimmick for all of this in combined mode. Time will tell. Load Warrior's transformation is less complicated than you might realize from the lack of obvious truck kibble. The grill of the truck was tucked into his backpack, which also makes up the spill guard. His curled up arms make the lights and cab, and then like any good Long Haul is bed is mostly made from his legs. What makes him a tad annoying, despite his seeming simplicity, is the need to have everything lined up in his legs just right, or things won't tab together properly. Also, the instructions are some of the worst I've seen, omitting some steps and, in one instance, continuing from the top row of one page to the top row of the next page, causing major headaches when you follow the numbers from the top row of the page to the bottom row of the same page then realize that you need to do other things first. Worst of all, there's a step for vehicle mode that they don't bother to mention until the combined mode, where midway through the instruction from truck to combined mode they guide you through that step, then promptly have you undo it because it's not part of combined mode. Naturally, I didn't realize that the weird "do this, now undo it" part of the combined instructions were missing vehicle steps until later, so guess what? My alt mode pics are mistransformed! This is pretty much the gist of it, though; what I'm missing are some panels that fold out from inside the shoulders to help fill in the sides and lock in the waist (you can see the green peg it should plug into in the side view there). This allows the front wheels to shift slightly back and tuck in a little more, so they don't stick out quite so far. That said... his robot thighs are still pretty visible, his rear wheels aren't as wide as the front ones, and there's that weird panel running up from the rear wheels on both sides, with a gappy rear and taillights at weird angles. So, yeah, all the vehicles in this set have been a bit stylized and not real-world vehicles, but Load Warrior seems a bit extra stylized. Load Warrior's accessory storage helps a little. Actually, I'd say his gun, which fits between his legs with the barrel pointing in toward the cab, fills in the rear a lot. Then the axe blades tab into the sides, and sure, they do help cover his thighs... but then you've got conspicuous translucent red blades on the sides of a dump truck. And the rest of the axe? Well, there doesn't seem to be a dedicated place to put that stuff. I suppose you can take it apart and stuff the pieces into his bed, which is a fairly solid and adequately deep bed, though one with some obvious robot kibble and one that can't actually tilt. Though the pieces fit, they do not lock down in any way. Although Load Warrior's instructions go from truck to combined mode, I think you're almost better off starting from robot mode. You have to reconfigure his arms an bit and tuck his head in, and bring up the front grill like you're going to truck mode, but his torso is mostly still in the robot mode position. As for his legs, you make him do a split, then shift armor on the backs of his thighs to the sides, which will allow you to open a panel behind it and unlock a joint that drops his lower leg back to vertical. Point his toes down, and that's it. Of course, on his own he doesn't look like much, but if you take the lower half of Megatron, fold out some flaps and move the side skirts to the front, shift the hips down so the legs peg together, then open the backs of the legs, you'll make an armor piece that plugs into Load Warrior's crotch and wraps underneath and fills out Devastator's pelvis. I think it's kind of good that they didn't release Load Warrior first... the robot mode's a tad generic, the alt mode is a little too far from a real dump truck, and the transformation is just a tad more annoying that the previous two releases. That said, with soon-to-be three companies competing for a G1 Sunbow-style MP Devastator, I do really appreciate that DST is bringing a unique aesthetic to their Constructicons, and doing so with gorgeous metallic green and purple paints, plenty of little tampographs, and cool accessories like a big ol' battle axe. If nothing else, I now have three Constructicons that look pretty amazing on a shelf together. If you can only get one Long Haul, well... I guess you'll probably want a more cartoon accurate one to replace ToyWorld's on your MP shelf. OK, but if you can do two, where one is more stylized... actually, I still prefer the Mecha Invasion ones, and they're much cheaper to boot. OK, OK, but if you still have a craving for Constructions that aren't perfect, but still look pretty dang cool, or are looking for something that's a bit better as a display piece than Mecha Invasion's, this is still shaping up to be a pretty good set.

I don't know if I'd rate it that low, but otherwise I agree with this take. It very much felt like the sort of plot that could have been a multi-part episode of the Justice League. It wasn't bad, I'd go so far as to say that I wound up liking the casting a good bit, but it lacked any real nuance (my wife even complained that even if she could buy that Luthor was that much of a megalomaniacal villain, she couldn't believe that all those people working for him would just go along with his scheme), and it was lacking in a cinematic, summer blockbuster feel that The Avengers movies had.

I think that's fair, but iirc Ignis' feet still have ankle pivots, and the chunky design is pretty accurate. Ignis definitely has his share of compromises due to the All Built-In gimmick, but I expected that after Onslaught. Ventus just feels unfinished, that's why I might give Ignis an edge. But there's definitely a gap between Ignis & Ventus vs the other three. I agree, but I'll go one further. If we're only comparing arms, I think Venus<Impetus (Vortex)<Volatus (Blast Off)<Medicus. Anything's possible, I guess (I just saw they're doing Godbomber armor for Optus Pexus), but since they're doing actual toy decos I wouldn't hold my breath. If you can make a combiner without any extra parts it's all-in-one. The shoes are optional for people who want toy/OX accuracy. I'll say this, though... I'm messing with Maximas Pro around the same time with Hasbro's Superion. And yeah, MMC's All Built-In engineering is super impressive, but I'm kinda loving the simple playability and all-around sturdiness of the Hasbro stuff. Completing Maximas Pro kinda makes me want a new Hasbro Defensor.

Looking forward to that, thought I'm debating on whether or not to pick up a few more of XTB's. Their Scrapper was pretty good. Speaking of MMC, I'm way late on this because it's been sitting in my stash waiting to ship, but I've finally got the last of MMC's Protectobots. This is Ventus, their take on Blades. If nothing else, visually Ventus is looking pretty great. I mean, at this level we've come to expect that they'd get details like the arm kibble, chest vents, knee pads, and color placement. But MMC got the two-segmented thighs, the line around the wrists, the circles on to the top of his torso, the indented section of his pelvis, and even managed to compress the kibble on his arms to better match his Sunbow self. Ventus is pulling all of that off with minimal extraneous kibble, too. Little cockpit and rotor on the back, like the G1 toy (can't recall if that bit of cockpit is cartoon accurate). The bulk of the tail boom is tucked flatly as an integrated part of the legs, with just a little of the tail near his heels breaking the illusion. Ventus comes with a pistol, two "rocket launchers," and a pair of alternate faces in cause you'd prefer to swap the stoic default face with an angry one or a slight smile. Note that he also comes with replacement faces for Incertus (Groove), as the stock faces were prone to scratching. Ventus' articulation is mostly good, largely on par with the other members of the team, save for one glaring flaw. His head is on a hinged ball joint that can look down a little, but has tons of upward and sideways tilt. His shoulders rotate and extend laterally 90 degrees (mind the kibble). His biceps swivel, and his soft-ratcheted elbows bend around 120 degrees. His wrists swivel, and his fingers are individually articulated, though they're molded into curves and only jointed at the base, with a ball joint on the thumb and hinges for the rest. His waist swivels, and he's got about 45 degrees of ab crunch. His hips, soft-ratcheted all around, can go 90 degrees forward, 45 degrees backward, and over 90 degrees laterally. His thighs swivel, and his knees bend 90 degrees. His toes can tilt downward... and that's it. In the year of our Lord 2025, when even Hasbro knows to put ankle articulation on a $25 Deluxe, MMC released a Masterpiece-style figure with NO ANKLE PIVOTS. Ventus holds his pistol well, but plugging the tab on the back of the handle into his palm/thumb area. The same cannot be said for the rocket launchers, which use small squarish tabs to loosely plug into ports on the sides of his legs. I guess MMC felt it was necessary to include, since the leg guns are part of Blades' animation model. Ventus' transformation is fairly straightforward once you understand what you're doing- part of the cockpit comes off his back to cover his head, most of the rest of it is in his chest and tummy. Moving his chest and tummy leaves a hollow void that you can fill buy stuffing his arms in there, but you gotta make sure you're expanding and arranging the kibble on his arms just right. His waist swivels so that his crotch is under his butt plate, his legs unfold into the rear of the helicopter, then he folds backward at the waist and bends at the hips and knees to stuff everything below the waist that isn't a helicopter into his back. The problem is, even when you know what you're doing, it's kind of a pain. You don't have a lot of clearance to work with in spots, his chest is clipped in place with c-clips holding onto metal rails that are also used for sliding his shoulders, and you need to collapse the lower half of his thighs over the upper half but the buttons to unlock the sliders are a pain. To be clear, compared to a lot of other 3P toys Ventus' engineering and transformation isn't really that bad, but considering how good the other MMC Protectobot limbs were I can't help but feel a tad let down. Fortunately, his alt mode is pretty worth it. I mean, yeah, he's a tad plain... I'd expect the toy-version to have black windows, a red chin, and maybe a stripe on the side. But the G1 toy didn't have any Rescue or Coast Guard markings or anything, and the cartoon kind of doubled down on Blades' plainness by coloring over the windows and much of the chin with white. Amusingly, the animation model kept the toy's little wheels on the landing skids, which a real Bell UH-1 definitely wouldn't have, but otherwise it's a pretty decent representation. In fact, I know you guys like to rag on aircraft having neglected bottoms, but even from underneath Ventus cleans up very well, with naught but a few seams to even indicate that it's a transforming toy. While we're under there, you'll notice a square hole in the chin. You can sandwich the piston's handle into it, and the barrel even swivels so that the sight is still facing upward. Cartoon accuracy also demands guns on the sides of a helicopter (because Blades will protect you TO DEATH!). For this, there are ports on the tail you can flip open and reveal little peg holes. The rear section of the rocket launcher folds down, which gives the launcher clearance to reach around the fuselage. Not much else to it... the main rotor spins, but the tail rotor kind of doesn't. You need to push it in and lock it to keep the blades aligned, otherwise one folds over the other. The wheels spin, but poorly, as they're not really big enough for the weight of the figure. Blades is, typically, my least-favorite of the Protectobots, so maybe Ventus always had an uphill battle, but he's definitely my least favorite of the set. Since MMC released their Vortex, it seemed like the engineering was getting better and better in each of their All Built-In limbs, but with a finnicky transformation and no ankle pivots Ventus seems like a big step backward for them. I have to stress, however, that's compared to the lofty standards MMC set themselves for this set. By most 3P standards, I think what you're getting here is mostly a cleverly-engineered toy with a solid, cartoon-accurate robot mode (minus the lack of ankle articulation) and good, if a little cartoony, helicopter mode. Ventus is a perfectly adequate MP-style Blades that will look good with the other MMC Protectobots on a shelf. But how about combined mode? OK, I'd normally do a second review for the combined mode, but I'd also go into some detail about how everything fits together with pictures and junk, and honestly, combining Maximus Pro (aka Defensor) was kind of a pain. First, I had to transform Ignis (Hot Spot), and again I'm reminded how MMC was maybe a bit too clever for their own good on this one, as I quickly realized that there was zero chance I was going to reconfigure Ignis' hips and thighs properly from memory. One video guide later (which also helped me to decipher the folded-up armature that becomes Maximus Pro's calves and feet Ignis was ready, but I had to attach the limbs. Doing the arms is super easy; there are latches on the shoulder ports, and you just have to make sure that the one for the right arm has the latch facing up and the one for the left arm has the latch facing down. Slot the arms in, and close the latches to lock them down, and you're good to go. Doing the legs was a bit harder, though. There's a hinged T-bar in the foot that has to be captured by the leg bots, then behind a black cover on the knees you'll find rails that square-shaped panels on the legs slide into. Capturing the T-bar is a pain, as you can't really see what you're doing. Getting Incertus (Groove) onto the knee rail wasn't bad, but Navigant's (Streetwise) panels are hinged, so they kind of want to move out of the way rather than slide in. The combined mode looks quite good, at least. Considering that the torso bot is a fire truck with a big ol' ladder, Maximus Pro is very clean. I know people collecting Zeta/Fans Toys/XTB/DX9 combiners will likely complain Maximas Pro is too short, but he's the same size as MMC's Bruticus with the upgrade kit (or slightly taller without), which is all that matters as far as I'm concerned. I very much appreciate how Incursus and especially Navigant are actually transformed, and not just tacked onto the leg frame. It makes the combination look purposeful while having the benefit of being cartoon accurate. Maybe a little too cartoon accurate... I'd prefer a little red on the abs. You can, at least, close Medicus' (First Aid) window if you want. You do have to leave Ventus' cockpit angled, though, as the rotor locks into it. You also have the option of opening up his back and folding out part of the ladder if you want to give him his toy/OX-style collar. I'll remind you that Ignis also came with an alternate head and faces, should you want a more cartoon-simplified head or a more expressive face. Maximas Pro's head can swivel, but that's about it. His shoulders swivel and can move laterally a little under 90 degrees, and sadly he's got Hot Rod Shoulders so the rotation is on the wrong side of the lateral movement. On both arms his biceps swivel, on the right he can bend his elbow a little over 90 degrees, but the left can only manage 90. His wrists have partial swivels. Each finger is individually articulated with a trio of hinged knuckles, while his thumb has an additional ball joint. His waist swivels, and he's got 60 degrees of ab crunch. His hips can go forward 90 degrees, but only a little backward and about 75 degrees laterally due to his butt plate. His thighs swivel, but look kind of weird because his front "hip skirt" is actually connected to the top of his thigh, not his pelvis. His knees bend a bit over 90 degrees. His feet can tilt up some, but not really down, and he's got about 45 degrees of ankle pivot. Larger handles fold out of Ignis' guns so that Maximas Pro can hold them. In his left hand they work like you'd expect; tabs on the sides of the handle lock into his palm. On his right hand it seems like the space in his palm is too large, so the gun doesn't lock in at all. It's just the friction of his fingers keeping the gun there. One of the things I really liked about MMC's Bruticus was how everything ultimately had a place. Even Vortex's pistol ultimately had a little cubby in Onslaught's back. I wish that kind of effort had been expended here. See, you can store Ingis' rifles on his back. Medicus' pistol stays in it's dedicated spot inside his door. Navigant's pistol I have tucked under his windshield, which works but doesn't lock in and always felt like more of an afterthought than planned storage. Ventus' pistol can remain in it's alt mode spot (take my word for it, I was not yanking him apart enough to tab the gun back in). You can plug Ventus and Incursus' leg guns into their usual alt-mode spots, but Ventus' especially look kind of out-of-place. But that still leaves no storage at all for Incursus' pistol. The spot where it goes in his alt mode is occupied by the T-bar that locks him into Maximas Pro's foot. The best answer I could come up with is to leave Medicus and Navigant's pistols where they're stashed, but to take all of Ventus' weapons and attach them to one of Ignis' guns, and take all of Incursus' weapons and attach them to the other. For Incursus, this works mostly fine. For Ventus, the white stands out from the black, but the real trouble is that the little square tabs that barely attached the rocket launchers to Ventus' legs in bot mode are even more loose when using them to attach to Ingis' gun. If this is how you're going to keep them (which is what I plan), then you're going to need to do something to thicken the tabs first. BTW, the poles or arms or whatever that came with Ingis, that only have a real use in a base mode you'll almost certainly never use? They can also attach to Ingis' guns if you like, but I prefer to leave them in the closet with the other optional parts I'm not using. I have mixed feelings about Maximas Pro. On the one hand, I think he looks darn near perfect (if Sunbow accuracy is what you're going for), and he's got good articulation for a combiner. MMC's All Built-In engineering continues to impress, even if they went a little overboard on Ingis. But for all the lessons MMC learned from their Bruticus I can't help but feel like Maximas Pro is two steps forward, one step back. Tolerances are off in places, mostly relating to Ventus, like they rushed him out the door so they could move on from this project. His feet, which are essentially several hinged flaps locked together around a centra core, don't feel particularly stable. And I'm definitely disappointed with how poorly their individual accessories are integrated. By the time all is said and done, this project that had me genuinely excited at first feels less joyful and more like crossing a character off the list. But which character? Because I actually think I like their individual modes better than their combined mode. So, I think that's my final recommendation. Ventus- yes, get him if you want an MP Blades. Maximas Pro? Maybe wait and see how XTB's Defensor shakes out.

Credit where it's due, two G1 combiners and the promise of getting some toys of deep lore figures like the Thirteen Primes has me more primed (pun intended) for the brand than the flagging waves of Legacy. But boy are they stingy! I had to check my notes, but wave 2 has no Leader-class figure (unless you count G2 Grimlock as wave 2 and not wave 1), only three Deluxes (one of which is a package refresh), all of which we're still waiting on, and two Voyagers. One was Heatwave, who came out a month ago. The other is just hitting stores now, and that'd be Sky-Byte. While I don't know that Robots In Disguise is all that fondly remembered, as it was hastily thrown together to fill a gap between the cancelled sequel to Beast Machines and the more Hasbro-involved Armada, the show still holds a place in my heart because I was so excited to see that, after years of Maximal gorillas named "Primal," Optimus was a Autobot truck again. It took a few episodes, but we got Decepticons, too, including Scourge, who'd go on to kick off an endless parade of evil black Optimus repaints in the West (even if Black Lio Convoy technically did it first). But the Predacons weren't all bad, and I (and countless others) developed a fondness for a certain poetry loving try-hard fishing for praise (pun intended) even as his boss only had eyes for the new guys. Indeed, Sky-Byte was popular enough to warrant a toy in Generations back in 2014, an appearance in the Cyberverse cartoon and a few toys in the accompanying toyline, and he's slated to appear in the new Cyberworld line. As for as Age of the Primes goes, this is a pretty great rendition of the character. He's got a lean, athletic build and aside from missing highlights on his shin details and a little blue on his inner biceps he's very cartoon accurate. Speaking of accuracy, he retains the shellformery nature of the original toy, which gives him large shoulder pads and a large chunk of shark for a cape. But it terms of both accuracy and overall design, I rather prefer it to the Generations toy's attempt to integrate the shark head into the chest details. Side note, in the above picture you'll notice a large square hole in his forearm. Please note that Sky-Byte's arm is actually turned around, and that square (necessary for his alt mode) should be on the inside of his forearm, not the outside. Sky-Byte comes with a little missile launcher. Unlike the original toy, it doesn't actually fire any missiles. It's been awhile since I've seen the cartoon so I'm not sure if it's accurate or not, but I'd have appreciated some paint on the missile tips nevertheless. As for the sprue, it contains his shark fins, but you have to cut them out yourself. Sky-Byte's head appears to be on a ball joint that can swivel and look up, but lacks any real downward or sideways tilt. His shoulder pads are hinged to wiggle up and down, and actually just pegged on so they can swivel to show more of the inside or more of the outside. His shoulders swivel and move laterally, though a tad shy of 90 degrees. His biceps swivel, and his elbows bend 90 degrees (forward and backward). Both his normal wrist and his claw wrist swivel. The blue and white fins on his claw can open and close, too. His waist swivels, though you're a little limited by his kibble cape. His hips can go 90 degrees forward and laterally, and close to 90 degrees backward (again, the kibble is a factor). His thighs swivel, and his knees bend a little over 90 degrees. His toes can bend downward due to his transformation, and he's got about 60 degrees of ankle pivot. You can peg the missile launcher into Sky-Byte's normal hand. When he's not using it, you can store it by tabbing it to the roof of the shark mouth on his cape. As for his fins, they end in pegs and you can also put them into his normal hand to act like bladed weapons. Otherwise, you just peg them into the kibble on his back; it's where they belong in alt mode anyway. Speaking of alt mode, transformation is mostly straightforward with a few interesting bits. His backpack lifts up to line up with his head, which pulls away from his body, and you're like 25% there already. His shoulders detach from his chest and swivel up into the area where his head was, but they use sliders so that the arm with the normal hand is under the arm with the claw. His feet fold down and tab together, then his shins fold back over his thighs, the backs of which lock into his back kibble. His shoulder pads swivel around to cover his face and upper arms, while the panels with his pectoral fins spin and shift to fill in the shark's sides. Finally, bring the shark's head down and lock it into place. Again, AotP Sky-Byte is much closer to the cartoon than the Generations toy, though with a bit of the original toy mixed in. Like you've got the cutouts in his dorsal and pectoral fins that were often colored as solid in the cartoon, and more emphasis on the mechanical details than the cartoon, but without all the colored circuits and wires of the original toy. He's got cartoon-accurate eyes, not the weird bug eyes of the Generations toy, and (best of all, if you ask me), he's fairly straight, not permanently curved like a dolphin doing flips at SeaWorld. That's not to say that he isn't posable, though. Having his arms stacked and his elbows bending both ways as the tail means that he's got a joint for bending his tail to either side. His jaws open, and there's a dedicated joint that allows his head to bend down, with some molded detail to keep his body solid. Speaking of jaws, he can store his missile launcher in his mouth. While you can leave it in the roof of his mouth if you want to keep it stored but out of site, he's got slots to tab it into his bottom jaw like the original toy/cartoon. There's not a lot to complaint out here. Sky-Byte doesn't have a ton of accessories, but what he has is appropriate and stores well in both modes. He looks good in both modes, solid and cartoon-accurate. He's decently articulated in robot mode, and even has some head and tail articulation in shark mode. What more could you want? I think the only thing working against him, at least in these parts, is that he's from a lesser-loved Transformers show. If you're G1 only, well, Sky-Byte's not it. But if you're even casually a fan of RiD or the character/toy, this is a fantastic update that's sure to please, and a major upgrade over the old Generations toy.

OK, one last upgrade kit (for now). We did the baddies, how about an upgrade kit for the good guys? This kit is DNA's DK-52 kit for the Studio Series Rise of the Beasts Maximals. In this kit, you'll find a hammer, two hologram balls, a head, two hands, and two sets of toes. There's also Return of Chunk. The head is for Optimus Primal. A complaint I had with the figure was that he had a cartoon-style opening in his mask with a mouth, but the final CGI model had just a mask. (You may even recall when I reviewed Apelinq, who had the full mask, that I wondered if switching their heads was a good idea, since Apelinq's robot face wasn't in the movie, but Yolopark revealed that Apelinq wasn't supposed to have a mouth, either.) The DNA head is basically identical to the stock head except it doesn't have a mouth. Swapping the head is as simple as yanking the stock head off the ball joint and pushing the DNA head onto it. As a simple head swap, it doesn't affect his transformation at all and does nothing for his alt mode, so we'll skip right onto the next one... ...which is a hammer for Rhinox. Who already came with a hammer. Arguably, the new hammer has a somewhat better sculpt and paint than the stock one, but they're about the same size. It's a tad snug, too. If the hammer stopped at being slightly prettier this would be a hard sell, but where the hammer really shines is alt mode. We have a little prep to do first, though. Once you have Rhinox in alt mode, open up his back and yank his head off at the indicated hinge. That'll give you a little more room to work. OK, in the back of the rhino head you'll find a hollow void. Grab Return of Chunk, and wedge it into the void so the u-shaped cutout is at the bottom. Once it's in there good, you can reattach the head. Now, take the hammer and fold the handle back like you would with the stock hammer. Then, take the top of the hammer and rock it backward on a double hinge, and flip out the two little winglets on the sides of the hammer. Turn Rhinox upside down and pull out his neck a bit so you can see Return of Chunk inside. The handle of the hammer goes into that cutout, with the hammer oriented so the top is facing the ground when Rhinox is standing up. The spikes on the face of the hammer get tucked into the top of his robot chest, and the top of the hammer lines up with the bottom of the rhino neck. This allows the hammer to fill in the void in the rhino chest between his neck and the robot chest (which became his rhino tummy). And I think it works pretty well! The mechanical detail sort of works with with the gappy machinery with lots of moving parts look the film gave the Maximals. And you know I love this sort of integrated weapons storage over the stock "just stick it on his back" look. Speaking of his back, this is a good time to talk about the hologram globes. The tops are different on each globe, but they can be removed and swapped between them. Which you might want to do, because one of the bases has a 5mm peg, which allows it to plug into Rhinox's back (since we don't have to stow a hammer there anymore). According to the instructions, the other has a 4mm peg. The instructions suggest using the globes with Airazor or Optimus Prime. I'm struggling to recall if they ever used a hologram in Rise of the Beasts, or if DNA just included them because a certain 3P included them with their versions of Optimus Prime... but that particular version of Prime was a modified KO of Lemontree's Bumblebee Optimus Prime, and that Prime did use a hologram globe... eh, not important, I guess. We're wrapping up this set with some parts for Cheetor. You're going to need to loosen the screws on the backs of his forearms. You won't actually remove them or take his forearms apart, just loosen them enough that you can pull the ball-jointed fists out and fit the replacement fists in. The DNA fists have the bulk of the alt mode paws on the backs of his hands, with just two claws sticking out. Near as I can tell, the CGI in the film doesn't have any paw, but it does have the two claws, so I consider this a moderate upgrade in accuracy. As for the toes, you need to yank the stock front half of Cheetor's feet off of the gray hinge, then snap the replacement parts on in their place. the replacement feet are a little taller, so you'll need to flip a heel out to lie against the cat paws on the back half of the foot. The new feet aren't as flat and short, with some silver paint for the toe spikes. And, yeah, the shape and the silver make the foot a bit more accurate, but I feel like you could have gotten most of the same benefit by getting a silver oil-based Sharpie paint marker and painting the toe spikes on the stock feet yourself. I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention that, even with the flip-out heels, he seems a little less stable on his new feet. Transforming Cheetor with the DNA kit is mostly the same. You have to fold the heel back into the front of the foot, but the foot still folds up against the back of the cat leg. The hands do a bit better. The paws on the backs of the hand double-hinge out over the claws, so that the claws become fingernails for the cat. Since both the claws and paws on hinged on the new hands, they function as well the stock paws in cat mode. Maybe better, since it looks like they can sit a little flatter, and the nails are all painted silver. As for the feet, you get the sense that maybe there was a reason the stock feet were so small in the first place. Perhaps I will just paint the stock feet and put them back on. That said, the globes and the feet are the only things I'm a bit iffy on. The new head for Primal is more accurate, and the I really like the new hands for Cheetor, though those things alone probably wouldn't sell me on a whole kit. Rhinox's hammer, though, is a different story. I love it. I love that it integrates into his body instead of sitting on his back in rhino mode. I love that it fills in a major gap in the alt mode. It's exactly what Rhinox needed, so much so that I'd recommend the kit just for that reason. If you have Studio Series Rhinox, this kit is a definite recommend. The fact that you can also upgrade Cheetor and Primal is just icing on the cake.